Week Six, Part 4 - Law School Rankings

During lunch I sit in the student lounge on the steps created by the recessed floor. Chowing down beside me are two classmates from Notre Dame Law School. It's the usual gab: where you from, what'd ya study, why ND.

Above us are the 100-plus pennants from the undergraduate institutions represented in the law school. The collection includes my alma mater, Pillsbury College, though I notice the blue felt is fading after only five weeks.

Andy Bojko ("boy-ko"), Dan Gag ("gog"), and I discover that we share more than weird surnames. All three of us grew up in Minnesota.

"Ya, sure, you betcha," I say.

Andy went to high school in Apple Valley, a Minneapolis suburb, and then to Princeton University. There he majored in philosophy. Dan's from Mankato, a city of 40,000, about a half hour north of the Iowa border. He graduated with a degree in business management and pre-law from Hamline University in St. Paul.

Neither one has heard of Pillsbury College, not even Dan who lived 40 miles away.

"There's advantages to a small school," Andy says. "Bet you got good grades."

I nod. "About a 3.8. How ‘bout you?"

He laughs. "Only two A's in four years. And those were gifts."

"Was it hard gettin’ into Princeton?

"Nah. Because of soccer I could pretty much choose where I wanted to go," he says in a matter-of-fact tone. He was captain of a state championship team at Apple Valley High School.

That's surprises me. Andy's short, maybe 5'9", and doesn't look particularly jock-like. With his brown hair and square features, he resembles Sean Astin, star of Rudy.

Andy says he visited Stanford, Duke, and UVA before choosing Princeton. "It seemed to fit me best." As for law school, he says, Notre Dame was the highest-ranked institution to accept him. "Now, though, I'm starting to worry."

Andy points to a black-and-white poster taped to the wall. The caption reads:

"CONCERNED? It's YOUR Future!"

A graph shows Notre Dame’s decline in the U.S. News rankings: 19th in 1990, 20th in ‘92, 26th in ‘94, 39th in ‘95.

"Join the SBA Ranking Committee.
Get involved – Agitate for Change!"

Dan says the fall-off last year was due to an administrative snafu in reporting the job placement of recent grads. We've all heard the same. Still, a rank of 39th is unacceptable.

Dan's about my height, stockier in build, with a wide face and glasses. I'm envious of his pre-law background. He says it was only beneficial for the first two weeks, but I don't believe him.

"Did you consider staying at Hamline for law school?"

"No way! It's ranked, like, 158th." Dan says some of his undergraduate classes were taught by profs from the law school. "That's another reason I didn't go there. They had this attitude of 'the law school's crap but I'm brilliant.'"

I ask Andy, "What about Princeton Law? Did you apply?"

He smirks. "No such institution.”

"Really? I thought all the Ivies had a law school.”

"Nope," says Andy.

"That's why the rankings are a joke," Dan says. "Add the non-existent ‘Princeton Law’ to any questionnaire about ‘reputation' and you've got a Top Ten school."

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